Clinical COVID-19 Support Group & Free CE on Ethical Concerns and Aging

Happy Tuesday!

We are now well into month two of our state’s Stay Home, Stay Safe order and the field of social work has transformed in so many ways during this short time. Social workers have been continuing to lead efforts in their agencies and communities during this uncertain period. We have seen social workers taking the lead on overseeing self-care and mental health check-ins with their organizations; transferring services to completely online and digital platforms; creating new agencies to address community needs; moving education, supervision, conferences,and field sites virtual, and finding creating ways to advocate for their clients as policies are changing at a rapid pace. 

The field of social work is going to come out of this pandemic as a different profession, at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. I recently came across Dr. Jay Miller’s article, Nothing Was The Same: 3 Reasons Post-COVID-19 Social Work Practice Is Never Going Back, Dr. Miller asserts that “if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is this: Business as usual is not, and will not, be sufficient. Moving forward, the way we practice, educate, and research must evolve in a way that not only responds to things that happen, but in a way that anticipates what is to come.” This is the time for social work to get creative, to push back on outdated policies, to be visible in public spaces, to better connect with other practitioners, and maybe most importantly to dream about what our field could be. 

I want to thank all of the social workers who have reached out to NASW-Michigan over the last several weeks, sharing your wisdom, resources, expertise, and most importantly hope. As an association we have listened to your needs and have been adapting our services, advocacy, and programs to make sure your voice is still heard. Over the last month we have hosted weekly member check-ins, organized free continuing education programs, pushed for policy changes at the state and national levels, and have advocated to LARA and the Board of Social Work on a host of issues. 

If you missed any of our weekly COVID-19 update calls you can watch the recordings here. You can also watch many of our recent webinars (Billing Essentials, Macro Career Searching, Managing Anxiety, etc) for free on the NASW-Michigan Youtube channel. Our most recent social work student town hall can also be found on the chapter Facebook page. 

Going forward we are planning to move our member update Zoom meetings to bi-monthly, starting Friday, May 8 (10-11am). These meetings will provide members the most current events, practice news, CE opportunities, and action alerts twice a month. Registration will be up on the NASW-Michigan website this week for the May 8th call. 

Additionally, we are forming a  Clinical Social Work Peer Support Group in the Time of COVID-19. This group will be a place for clinicians to share experiences, cases, practice questions, and to explore best practices during the pandemic and beyond. The first meeting for this group will be this Friday, May 1st from 10-11:30am (partnering with our regularly scheduled Private Practice Workgroup meeting). Later in the afternoon on Friday we will also be hosting a free CE web meeting on Ethical Concerns and Aging During COVID-19 (with the chapter Aging/Gerontology Workgroup). Registration links can be found below in this email. We hope to see you there. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the staff or board members should you have a suggestion, question, or need advocacy. We are here to support you!

Duane Breijak, LMSW-Macro

Director of Member Services & Development. NASW-Michigan

Advocacy/Legislative News

• ACTION ALERT: Join #NASW in urging Congress to include social workers in COVID-19 hazard pay as essential workers https://buff.ly/2W97hjZ
  
• Did you know that nonpartisan voter registration supports the #social work mission? Check out the national Voting is Social Work campaign’s worksheet for integrating voter engagement into social work practice here:
• https://bit.ly/2wFnepa #NASW is a partner in this initiative
• Urge CMS to Expand Telehealth to Include Audio-Only Devices

Practice Resources

• Implications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) for America’s Vulnerable and Marginalized Populations
• Helping People in Special Populations During the Coronavirus Pandemic
• Patients at 1 in 3 Michigan nursing homes have coronavirus, records show
• CPT Codes Used by Clinical Social Workers During COVID 19
• Hospital Social Work During the Coronavirus Pandemic
• When it comes managing loneliness those who practice self-care, engage w/others online & pursue creative endeavors can fare well #NASW Member Lisa Cox, LCSW and professor of #socialwork and gerontology at Stockton University told the @nytimes https://buff.ly/3czI21a

Telehealth Informed Consent Form Examples

• National NASW Template

• NASW Assurance Services 

Michigan Social Workers In the News

• When schools closed in the Detroit area on March 13 #socialworker Amanda Stein realized food insecurity would be an issue. She sprung into action, gathered a team and launched the Madison Heights Emergency Food Pantry. So far the pantry has served about 2,000 people: https://buff.ly/3eGXvOA
  
• SOCIAL WORKERS ON FRONT LINES: #NASW is working to get stories about social workers in the news, including this one. Thanks to WDIV Channel 4 in Detroit for this news segment on how hospital #socialworkers help #coronavirus patients stay connected to families and coordinate after-hospital care: https://buff.ly/2W13lSH 
  
• When patients with COVID-10 began arriving, Michigan Medicine social workers moved quickly to adapt. Here’s how they helped patients. (Audrey I. Houttekier, LMSW, C-ASWCM and Gariann Brock, LMSW, ACSW, C-ASWCM): https://bit.ly/2VHYc2G 
  
• We must address pandemic, humanitarian impact. “Strong policies to reduce the spread are having very positive results but have also resulted in economic hardships. It is crucial that we reduce the spread of this disease quickly and decisively so that we can restore the economic well-being for all our families.” - David Berns (NASW member and member of the NASW-MI Legislative Social Policy Committe). https://bit.ly/2VLvpKU
• Point of View: AI/AN Community Resiliency in the Face of COVID-19. “It is a time when support from others is needed, but not possible in direct contact, which is frustrating for the AI/AN as they are communal societies which emphasize a higher status for community involvement. This frustration is heightened by the cancellation of cultural, ceremonial, and social events which bring AI/AN together for communal spiritual and social support.” - Suzanne L. Cross (member of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe and NASW). https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/point-of-view-ai-an-community-resiliency-in-the-face-of-covid-19/

Free Upcoming Trainings

Helping Social Workers to Manage Our Own Grief and Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Wednesday, May 6, 2020 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET | Register

Our entire world is in a state of complicated grief right now. Join us as we work to support social workers with managing our own grief while also recognizing our strengths and resilience as individuals and as social work professionals.

Private Practice Q&A Call-in Session – Minimizing Liability Risks in Private Practice

May 20, 2020. Call-in session is free, available to NASW members only, and starts at 12 p.m. ET. No registration is required.